


Not So Imaginary Friend

by Arach



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Childhood Friends, Established Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot, Sad Ending, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-06 15:52:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3140009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arach/pseuds/Arach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik was more than just a toy shark stuffed with soft filling, he was Charles' only friend in the manor.<br/>It's just that only he could see him and his mother just thought Erik was an imaginary friend of his.</p><p>Charles thought the same thing until he Erik told him all about being a ghost and their bond become closer from there.<br/>That is until Charles left his childhood for Oxford. Left his childhood and locked away any memories of the Manor.</p><p>Erik included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not So Imaginary Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of the caption on [this](http://websta.me/p/892707419113110855_1319116518) ([original](http://sorujaa.tumblr.com/post/53307006925/calvin-and-hobbes-cherik-au) drawn by sorujaa) and written for **ohcherik** on instagram :)  
> [Vietnamese Translation](https://bluethecassie.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/not-so-imaginary-friend/) by BlueCassie
> 
> As always, happy reading!

It wasn’t weird. Lots of kids had one, especially if they lived in a large manor where not even crickets chirped to keep the night company. Especially if they had a mother who drowned herself in those nasty adult drinks and their father, the only person who actually cared, was dead. _Especially,_ if they’re step-father and step-brother were complete idiots who ignored him and the only people who talked to him was his nanny.

So no, it wasn’t weird that Charles spent his days going on adventures and his nights reading bedtime stories with his friend Erik. It wasn’t weird at all that Erik, his _best_ friend, was a stuffed shark that his father had given him only weeks before his death.

“Charles! I found it! I found the buried treasure,” Erik shouted, waving his arms from his spot next to a chest filled to the brim with golden coins and other treasures.

They were currently pirates, scouring the land where their ship landed for buried treasure. Charles grinned and ran to Erik, bringing his small hand up to hold his pirate hat in place.

“It’s so shiny!” he exclaimed, laughing in delight as he looked through the chest.

Erik smiled his shark smile, the smile that showed all his pointy teeth. Most people were scared of it; Charles thought it looked nice on Erik’s face. He liked it when Erik smiled.

“Here, I dug this out for you.” Erik held out a jewel encrusted crown in front of him, showing it to Charles.

The young boy stared, mouth agape. The sunlight glinted off the jewels, giving the illusion that the crown was sparkling. His expression didn’t change even as Erik knelt down in front of him and gently placed the crown on top of his out of control brown hair.

“King Charles.” Erik put one knee up and moved his arm over his chest, not taking his eyes off of the other boy. “I am your humble knight.”

—

“Young Master Charles!” His nanny yelled, walking over to him. “Goodness me, you’re all covered in dirt! Even your toy has gotten all dirty,” she said, shaking her head and reaching over to grab the toy shark, “I’ll just throw him in the wash.”

“No!” Charles snapped out of the adventure – the chest was gone, replaced by the sight of the manor in the distance. He held Erik close to his chest, a frown on his face. “Erik doesn’t like the wash. He can’t breathe for that long underwater.”

The nanny sighed and moved back, she’d wash the shark later when the young master wasn’t looking. “Alright, though you need to wash up. It’s time for your snack.”

Charles wordlessly got up from the ground with Erik still cradled in his arms and walked back to the manor with his nanny.

* * *

“…and they lived happily ever after,” Erik read the last line of the fairytale lying on their laps, “The end.” He reached down and shut the book.

“Let’s read another book,” Charles said, not wanting to say goodnight just yet. His mother was once again drinking and stumbling around in the foyer and Cain, his step-brother, had brought his friends over. Charles just wanted to stay in his bed, talking to Erik.

“It’s already late, let’s go to sleep,” Erik said, moving the book onto the nightstand.

“But I want to read more stories,” Charles whined, pouting at his friend.

“Alright,” Erik gave in, “In a minute though, someone’s coming.” He put his finger over his mouth in a shushing motion. Charles nodded his head and closed his mouth.

His mother walked in, red nightgown slipping off her body and bottle in her hand. “Charles?” she asked, words slurring a bit, “Are you talking to that stupid toy again? I thought I told you to-” she hiccupped, but it did nothing to lower her voice, “-to stop that!”

Charles put his knees up, squishing Erik between his body and his knees. “Erik is not a toy, mother!” he said angrily, glaring at her. “He’s my friend!”

She stomped into his room and snatched Erik out of his hands before he could react. “ _Erik_ ,” she started, holding Erik by the fin on his back and waving him around, “is a toy shark.”

“Give him back!” Charles cried, tears welling up in his eyes. To him, he could see Erik being held by his hair and heard him whimpering in pain.

She threw the shark onto the bed. “You’re ten years old, quit it with the imaginary friends,” his mother hissed at him, downing the rest of her drink as she stumble out of his room. At least she slammed the door shut behind her.

Charles scrambled out of his blankets and buried himself in Erik’s chest, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Erik, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Charles,” Erik replied, holding onto Charles and rubbing comforting circles on his back. “I’m fine.”

* * *

His mother died of alcohol poisoning when he was fifteen, he became friends with a girl named Raven around the same time.

“Come on, Charles! Everyone’s already waiting at the theater!” Raven yelled from the bottom of the main stairwell. He could hear the amused smile on her face.

“Wait!” Charles yelled back, frantically looking for his favorite sweater.

“Looking for this?” Erik asked, sitting on his bed and holding up his missing sweater.

“Yes, thank you,” he sighed in relief and took his sweater from the other. Leaning down, he pressed a chaste kiss on Erik’s lips. “See you later,” he said quietly, a small smile on his face, and hurried out of his room.

“See you,” Erik said to the closed door, smiling as he shimmered out of existence.

A toy shark lay in his place, facing the door and waiting for his beloved friend to return.

* * *

“I got accepted!” Charles whooped, throwing himself onto Erik.

Erik caught him, his arms tight around Charles waist, and spun him around. “That’s fantastic!” he said, grinning with all his teeth.

They stopped spinning and Erik lowered Charles back onto the floor, hands still around his waist to keep him steady.

“I want you to come out and celebrate with me and Raven,” Charles said, a determination evident in his eyes.

“Charles,” Erik spoke, his words quiet and laced with sadness, “I can’t. Remember what I told you?”

“Nobody can see you but me,” Charles replied, edging onto frustration and desperation. “But I want you to be there with me.”

“It’d be weird, you walking into the bar with a shark in your arms at the age of nineteen,” Erik shook his head, “Go have fun.”

“But-“

“No arguing. I’ll still be here when you get back. If you want, we can still celebrate. Just later, okay?”

Charles looked down, dejected at the answer. Eventually, he slowly nodded his head, “Alright. See you later.” He leaned up and kissed Erik on the lips.

“See you,” Erik said when they broke apart. He placed one last kiss on his beloved’s lips before letting him go; shimmering away when Charles turned to walk out of his room.

“Erik, I-” Charles turned his head around, hand gripping onto the door knob. The words died on his lips when all he saw was a toy shark on the floor next to his bed.

  _I love you_ , he thought with a sigh and left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

 

Charles left the manor, Oxford bound, the summer of that year. He began packing his childhood room up, putting everything into boxes. The house was in his name now, Cain had left weeks ago and Kurt, his step-father, had died the year before.

“Look at you, off to go see the world,” Erik’s voice startled him and he quickly spun around just in time to see him go from translucent and intangible to a corporeal being.

“If by the world you mean Oxford and only Oxford, then yes, I’m off to see the world,” Charles shot him a cheeky smile before turning back around and closing the full box he was organizing.

He leaned back when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Relaxing against the chest of his lover, he closed his eyes. “Come with me.”

“It’d be silly for you to have an old toy shark in your dorm.”

“I won’t bring the shark then. But I want _you_ to come with me.”

“You know I can’t, my soul’s attached to that shark. Where it goes, I go.”

Charles opened his eyes, heart heavy. “I’ll come back for you, my knight,” he said, quiet enough for only the two of them to hear. “I promise.”

“I’ll wait for you, my king,” Erik said, equally as quiet. He placed a soft kiss on Charles’ crown, “Promise.”

—

Charles left the toy shark out until Raven drove up to the manor to take him to the airport. The lovers shared a tearful goodbye, pouring their hearts into what was probably their last kiss until they saw each other again.

“I love you,” Erik whispered, leaning his forehead against Charles.

“I love you too,” Charles whispered back. A tear rolled down his face when he could no longer feel Erik’s strong arms.

He bent down and picked up the shark off the floor, the air solemn as he brought the shark up into the attic and placed it lovingly on top of one of the boxes in the middle of the room.

“I’ll come back,” he said, pressing a chaste kiss onto its head, hoping Erik could feel it.

He reluctantly turned away and left the attic. Charles grabbed his suitcase from its spot next to the large doors and put it into Raven’s trunk.

“Are you okay?” Raven asked when he slid into the passenger’s seat, genuine worry in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Charles assured her, wiping away any stray tears, “Just hard to say goodbye to my childhood.”

Raven nodded in understanding and made no comment, she left Charles to his own devices while she drove off.

* * *

Years passed.

Charles graduated Oxford with a stunning degree and began his career as a researching scientist. He made friends like Hank and Logan, became a Casanova with lovers walking in and out of his apartment, and continued to be a success in his work.

He hadn’t stepped foot in the New York Manor since he was 19.

Charles was 28 now and the Manor was but a vivid memory locked in a metal box at the back of his mind.

—

Erik shimmered into his corporeal being, replacing the toy shark and sitting on the box. He stared at the attic floor where the door was located. The space was dark and dusty and hadn’t been touched in years. The manor was as quiet as ever, he knew it was empty.

But he waited and waited, every day he’d become tangible and he’d sit on the box waiting.

_I’ll wait for you, my king_

And he would because he had an eternity, he couldn’t pass on into the afterlife now.

Not when he was still patiently waiting for his only love.

_I’ll come back for you, my knight. I promise._

“Liar,” he said to thin air, looking forlorn. He buried his face in his heads, fighting away the tears that wouldn’t come. He had run out of tears the first four years in the attic, when he realized Charles wasn’t coming back.

_But I’ll wait. I keep my promise, my love, and I’ll wait forever, my king._

_Forever in this attic._

He shimmered out of existence.


End file.
